Shloka 23
कालयुक्तधर्मविवेकः
Discerning Dharma in Accord with Time
पिशुनां न प्रभाषन्ते मित्रभेदकरीं गिरम् । ऋतं मैत्रं तु भाषन्ते ते नरा: स्वर्गगामिन:
piśunāṃ na prabhāṣante mitrabhedakarīṃ giram | ṛtaṃ maitraṃ tu bhāṣante te narāḥ svargagāminaḥ ||
जे मित्रांमध्ये फूट पाडणारी पिशुन वाणी बोलत नाहीत; उलट सत्य व मैत्रीभावयुक्त वचन बोलतात—ते स्वर्गगामी होतात।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not engage in slander or gossip that breaks friendships; cultivate speech that is both truthful (ṛta) and friendly (maitra). Such disciplined, benevolent speech is presented as a dharmic virtue leading to heavenly merit.
Śrīmaheśvara (Śiva) is instructing on dharma, specifically the moral discipline of speech. He contrasts divisive, tale-bearing talk with truth-and-friendship-oriented speech, and states the फल (result): those who follow the latter become svarga-gāmin (attain heaven).